Over the weekend NSWC received this very engaging interactive map of Staten Island the artist of this map is Deborah Davis. * Scroll Down for the map.

What came to mind is that it will make an excellent tool for having an idea of how climate change issues will affect the shore line communities based on the number of contaminants at the waterfront. And the inability to contain them to one location during coastal flooding situations.

It also brought to mind that very few political candidates even have a green step on their platform and with NYC being nothing but islands surrounded by water. With a laundry list of contamination issues - that if we were serious about being green we would be discussing them. Think of it the remediation and mitigation work would supply everyone with jobs for the next 100 years, easily. That is if we were serious about addressing our zoning, solid waste, contamination, and pollution problems properly.

Instead even though we are at the 100 year mark of the worse flooding conditions imaginable. We still have elected officials and government agencies dragging their feet and having a wait see response. The businesses along our waterfront have a great deal to lose when we are hit with climate change issues such as: sea level rising, storm surges and flooding. And there will be many questions regarding liability when what is on the waterfront rolls back towards the residential communities.

Yet, there are still planning meetings taking place where there is an obliviousness to climate change. And where the people who will be most affected are not part of the discussions or even a thought in the decision making process. Some where along the line it appears that "We The People" have become collateral damages to our officials and government.

In months to come FEMA will become a constant companion to Staten Island instead of a infrequent visitor. We need to be discussing how we can save lives instead of being at the reactive end after lives have been lost, as well as after billions or trillions of dollars in property damages have occurred. It doesn't have to be a dooms day scenario for us, especially if we learn from other U.S. cities mistakes and try not to repeat them.

It is time for Staten Island and the rest of New York City to rub the sleep from our eyes and get with the program of saving our waterfront residential communities. Each and everyone of you should be calling, emailing, and snail mailing our officials and government agencies telling them to talk about our environmental issues in real present day terms. And tell them we need to see plans of how our communities are going be protected from being in harms way. That's their job to protect and serve us!

Why Does Staten Island Lead New York City in Cases of Breast Cancer Mortality, Lung Cancer, Colon Cancer and Thyroid Cancer?

Staten Island, NY Ė September 28, 2010 Ė Along with being the home of Fresh Kills Landfill, one of the largest garbage dumps in human history, Staten Island has long been the victim of "money talks" corruption when it comes to the dumping of contaminated materials, the inspecting of industrial sites and the enforcing of federal regulations. With the support of a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts and Staten Island Creative Communities, artist Debby Davis has spent the past year mapping and documenting the areas of Staten Island which have been contaminated by industry corruption and neglect. She has spent time researching the history of factories on Staten Island by studying old maps and publications at the Staten Island Museum Archives as well as photographing the actual sites as they are today. She has also done extensive online research on the websites and databases for the EPA, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, as well as many online news publications.

The viewer will be able to click on specific sites to access pop-up windows showing photos and images of the contaminated site along with a short written description and history.

ē A printed version of the map will be mailed in late September as a poster in the centerfold of the Fall 2010 COAHSI newsletter which has a circulation of 20,000.

The purpose of the Toxic Trail Map of Staten Island is to help make more people aware of the toxins in their immediate environment.

Debby Davis is an artist, photographer and graphic designer who has lived on Staten Island for 20 years. She was the recipient of a 2008 COAHSI Premier Grant for her project, "This is What Time Does: A Year of Walking Richmond Road". She has shown her work in solo and group shows in New York since 1978. Her bio and other work can be viewed at http://www.debbydavisart.com/. Her packaging design work can be viewed at http://www.beachpackagingdesign.com/

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